Delay of Game (The Baltimore Banners Book 6) (8 page)

And then he heard her move, looked over to see her sliding across the bench. Justin's stomach clenched when she stood and that tiny flicker of hope died, blinked out in the space of a heartbeat. He tried to swallow back his disappointment and hoped to hell what he was feeling didn't show on his face.

Yeah, he should have known better. Should have known someone like Val would only be interested in him out of pity.

Something nudged him in the side and he looked up, not really understanding what he was seeing. Or maybe he was just seeing things, because Val was sliding in next to him, nudging his leg with hers until he moved over.

She reached across the table and slid her plate over in front of her without looking at him. She took a small bite and chewed, swallowed. Then she blotted her mouth with one of the paper napkins and took a sip of her tea. And then, finally, she looked over at him. Just looked, her wide hazel eyes clear, her delicate brows raised as she motioned to his own pizza.

"You should finish eating before it gets cold."

And that was it. No comment about what he had just said, no mention of the other night. Justin wasn't sure what to do, couldn't even think of anything to say.

Which was probably best, considering he seemed to make things worse every time he opened his mouth.

He watched the woman next to him for a few seconds: the tilt of her head as she took a small bite, the slight movement of her delicate jaw and neck when she chewed and swallowed. The fall of her thick black hair, the ends swinging against the middle of her back each time she moved.

He had no idea why she was still sitting here, why she was here to begin with. But he wasn't going to question it, not anymore. Even he wasn't stupid enough to tempt fate more than once. He reached for his own pizza and finally took a bite, surprised at how good it was, even if it was no longer steaming hot.

"I remember this one year, growing up. Randy was maybe twelve or thirteen, I don't remember exactly. He was doing something stupid, as usual, and broke his leg. They put a cast on it and everything and he was miserable. It was during the summer and he was moping around the house, whining, doing the whole boo-hoo thing. And of course everyone felt sorry for him." Val paused, taking another sip of tea.

"I guess that had to suck. Did it interfere with hockey at all?"

Val turned and gave him such a look of disbelief that he almost laughed. Then she rolled her eyes and looked away. "I was probably seven or eight at the time and I would have done anything for him back then. I was still young and naïve, what did I know?"

Justin chuckled again, quickly turning it into a cough when she gave him another one of those looks. "So I guess you tried to help him out, since he was your big brother and everything, right?"

A smile crossed her face, so sweet and full and bright, Justin felt like he'd been punched in the chest. He blinked, surprised that the entire restaurant didn't light up under the force of that smile.

"Yeah, I did." Val turned so she was facing him and propped her elbow on the table. She rested her head in the palm of her hand, a smile still teasing the corners of her mouth. "He was taking a nap on the sofa so I stole his stash of itching powder and poured it into his cast."

"That's—wait. You did what?" Justin blinked, certain he hadn't heard correctly. But no, Val was laughing, her eyes sparkling with merriment at the memory. "That's just—wow. Holy shit. You really did that?"

"Yeah, I did." Val laughed again then straightened. "I'm not real big on the whole pity thing. Just thought you might want to know that."

She didn't say anything else, just reached for another slice of pizza. The movement brought her closer to him, her leg pressed a little more tightly against his. He waited for her to move, felt a smile tug at the corners of his mouth when she didn't.

Justin had no idea if the story was true or not, but the message couldn't be clearer. The rock that had been sitting in his gut for the last half-hour—no, the last week, longer even—was no longer there. He felt lighter somehow, less worried. Like something had changed.

Yes, he was realistic enough to know this was just one night, one date. That the world wasn't going to suddenly change after tonight and that all his troubles and worries would be over. That all his mistakes would be corrected and go away. No, he knew better than that.

But he wasn't foolish enough to let whatever tonight might lead to pass him by.

The night air slipped into the cab of the truck. Dark, quiet, peaceful, with just a hint of chill. But Val was anything but cold. In fact, she was burning up, her skin feverish, her breathing harsh and ragged.

Justin Tome could kiss. He gave new meaning to the word 'talent'. In fact, talent didn't even come close to describing the man's skills.

Intense. Focused. So focused that every nerve along Val's skin was tight, tingling, on fire.

And Justin had done nothing but kiss her, his hands drifting only to her cheeks, her neck, the back of her head. Drifting once or twice to her shoulders, but nowhere else. Nowhere else. His mouth was magical, his soft lips dancing across her skin, caressing her cheek, her jaw, that sensitive spot just below her ear. Back to her lips.

Focused. So focused.

She wanted to crawl out of her skin, curl up next to him. No, not next to him. Inside him. She wanted to become part of him, have him become part of her.

All from a kiss.

If not for the hard console, looming so large between them, she'd be in his lap, wrapping herself around him, seeking more.

More? More might kill her. She was already close, so close, hovering on the edge. Needing more, afraid more might kill her.

Val didn't know how long they'd been out here, sitting in front of her building, the parking lot lights nothing more than a soft and hazy glow through the steamed windows of the truck.

A half hour? Fifteen minutes? She didn't know, didn't care. It was early still, not even eleven o'clock yet. At least, it hadn't been when they pulled up. Justin had game day skate in the morning, she knew he shouldn't be out late, that he needed his rest.

That didn't mean she didn't want him to come inside. She had been trying to figure out a way to invite him inside before they even pulled into the complex, tried to figure out the best combination of subtle and enticing without being too forward. And then Justin pulled in front of her building, turned off the engine, and leaned toward her.

They'd been kissing ever since.

Kissing? No. Not this. This was so much more than kissing. This was…she didn't know what it was, only knew she was on fire, burning up. She wanted more. Needed more.

Needed him.

The kisses became softer, gentler, more tender. But no less intense. Val moaned, the soft sigh full of need when he pulled away, his breath warm on her cheek. She swallowed, hard, and rested her forehead against his shoulder, her hand still twisted in the lapel of his sport jacket. His breathing was a harsh echo of her own, a little too fast, a little too ragged. He ran his fingers through her hair, the strokes long and gentle, over and over.

Val wanted to curl up in his lap and purr.

No, she wanted to invite him inside, then curl up in his lap. Curl around him.

Inviting him in shouldn't this hard. Not after the other night, not after she'd practically jumped him in her office. It wasn't like this would be their first time together. Not really. Why was she being so shy now, so uncertain and hesitant? This wasn't like her.

Which worried her, warned her that maybe she was already in over her head. She pushed the ridiculous thought from her mind, refusing to acknowledge it as anything more than silly.

"I should let you get inside." Justin's voice was ragged, barely more than a whisper in her ear. She nodded, shook her head, took a deep breath and shook it again. Justin chuckled, the sound warm and deep. Tingles danced along her skin, pebbling her flesh.

"Yes. You're getting cold." He took a deep breath and pulled away, releasing her. She wanted to tell him that she wasn't cold, that he misunderstood. But he moved away and she realized she was cold, that not having him so close left her chilled. It had nothing to do with the weather or the night air, and everything to do with feeling like something was suddenly missing.

Yes, she was in trouble. Capital T trouble. In more ways than she first thought.

Light filled the inside of the truck, harsh and bright, making Val blink and straighten as Justin got out. He closed the door and the light went off, only to come on again when he opened her door. He took her hand, helping her out and frowning when he noticed her bare feet.

"Did you want to put your shoes on first?"

She probably should. Walking barefoot along the cold sidewalk and into the foyer of the small building probably didn't look very sexy. Or very clean. But the thought of slipping her tired feet back into the aching confines of the too-high heels made her cringe. No, it was better to stay barefoot and just walk fast.

"No, I'm fine." She scooped the heels from the floor of the truck by the straps, letting them dangle from her fingers. She closed the door and moved to step past Justin, hoping he'd follow her, hoping her mind would come up with some excuse to invite him inside.

One minute she was walking and the next, the world around her spun out of control. Gravity disappeared, her feet flying out from under her, flying period. A surprised gasp rushed from her mouth, a pathetic little squeal that sliced through the quiet of the night air around her. She reached out, searching for something solid, some kind of anchor against the sudden vertigo.

Her hand closed around a fistful of Justin's shirt, his body hard and warm underneath. She caught her breath, her senses righting as understanding finally registered in her dazed mind.

She wasn't falling. Or spinning, or flying. She was in Justin's arms, her body tucked close against his as he moved from the parking lot to the sidewalk. "What are you doing?"

His chuckle rang in her ear, soft and warm. "I'm carrying you."

"Why?"

"Because I want to."

Val opened her mouth to say he was being ridiculous, that she didn't need to be carried, that she was perfectly capable of walking on her own. But then she looked up into his face, saw that boyish grin teasing one corner of his mouth, and all coherent words fled her mind.

"You're helping me with a fantasy. I've always wanted to sweep a beautiful woman off her feet."

Oh God, she was in so much trouble. Hearing the word 'fantasy' fall from his mouth with that word 'beautiful', all wrapped up in his soft deep voice, sent shivers racing from the top of her skull to the tips of her bare toes.

Val swallowed and forced a smile to her face, struggling to resist the urge to just curl up against his hard body as he carried her through the glass doors of the building. "You've never swept a woman off her feet before?"

She had meant the words to be teasing, to come out as nothing more than light-hearted banter. But they were so much more than that, too quiet, too questioning, too damn needy. Justin paused in front of the elevator and looked down at her, his eyes dark, his expression one she didn't understand.

The moment passed, a moment where something happened, where something passed between them. But she didn't know what that was, didn't understand what had just happened. And then she didn't have time to read into it, study it, question it, because Justin blinked and smiled and shook his head.

"No, I don't think I have. Not like this." He looked away and shifted her in his arms so he could hit the elevator button. And of course the door opened right away, because that's the way things worked.

He stepped inside, still cradling her in his arms, and hit the button for her floor. She should probably get down now, probably tell him she could walk since they were inside.

"How about you? Ever been swept off your feet before?"

Justin was teasing her, she knew that. And if she was smart, she would tease him right back. She would open her mouth and make some funny comment, say something witty or amusing. Something that was typically sarcastic, typically a Val thing to say. Isn't that what Randy was always telling her, that she could never be serious, that everything that came out of her mouth was always a joke?

That's what she expected. She opened her mouth, not planning on what to say, certain that whatever it was would be funny. Lighthearted. Amusing.

"Not until now."

Just three words. Three simple words. But it wasn't the words that surprised her. No, it was how she said them, how they came out in a throaty whisper, full of need and desire and want. And Oh God, she was in even more trouble than she first realized because those three small simple words said so much.

Not until now.

The truth hit her. Hard. Nobody, not one single person ever, had come close to making her feel the way she felt when she was with Justin. Not just the last week, but in nearly the entire year she had come to know him. The playful banter that she thought was nothing more than teasing, the occasional deep conversations shared in the late hours over drinks at the bar. All of it. Everything that happened over the past year that he'd been coming to the restaurant.

And she realized that this last week, tonight, now…it wasn't something that had happened out of the blue, with no warning or reason or explanation. This—whatever this was—had been building slowly, growing during the last year, a little at a time until coming together all at once, to this point right here. Right now.

And nobody had ever made her feel this way. Yes, she'd had relationships in the past. Some serious, some nothing more than flings. Not a single one had stirred the emotions raging inside her right this minute as Justin held her in his arms, staring down at her with those deep dark eyes.

"Val—"

The door opened with a ding and a hiss. Justin closed his mouth and looked away, stepping out of the elevator. Dammit. What had he been ready to say? What had that look in his eyes meant?

Val wanted to ask him, was ready to take a deep breath to summon courage to do just that. But then he was in front of her door, just standing there. He glanced down at her and gave her a quick smile.

"Here we are."

"Yeah." Val cleared her throat and tried to smile back as he gently lowered her to her feet. "Yeah, here we are."

She stood there like an idiot, too many seconds passing by before she reached into her small bag and pulled out her keys. Her hands were shaking just enough that she had trouble getting the key into the lock, making her feel like an even bigger idiot.

And then the key turned and the door opened and she stepped inside, her palm sliding against the wall to hit the light switch. She turned, hoping that Justin followed her in, but he was still standing in the hallway, his hand braced against the doorframe.

Like he was afraid of crossing some boundary, like holding onto the doorframe was an anchor of some kind.

"I had fun tonight." She stepped a little closer to him. Not much, just an inch or two.

The corner of his mouth tilted into a small smile. "Yeah? Good. I did, too."

God, why was this so hard? So damn difficult? All the nights they had spent talking at the bar, all the conversations over the past year. Even tonight. None of those times had been like this. Strained, awkward, uncertain.

It wasn't even like they hadn't been together already, like this would be the first time. And after the steamy kisses downstairs—surely Justin wanted to come in, didn't he?

Unless he didn't, and he wasn't sure how to let her down gently.

And oh my God, she was just going to drive herself crazy. This wasn't her, this being so uncertain, being afraid to speak up. She wasn't going to find any answers if she didn't ask the questions. And whether it was the answer she wanted or not, she had to ask if she wanted to find out.

Val took a deep breath and stepped a little closer. "Did…did you want to come inside?"

Heat and excitement flashed in Justin's eyes. And something else, something that almost looked like relief. She barely had time to blink, time to step back before he was standing in front of her. The door closed with a loud click as his arms wrapped around her, pulling her close.

"I was hoping you'd ask."

And then his mouth was on hers, his warm, wonderful, amazingly talented mouth, and Val forgot why she was so hesitant to ask him in the first place.